Cultural gold? Britain's £100m Olympic jamboree

The Independent, 27 April 2012

Publié le :
27 avril 2012

Nick Clark

What do Jay-Z, a bouncy castle Stonehenge and a circus performance in a cathedral have in common? Answer: they all form part of the London 2012 Festival, along with street art in Bristol, a barge full of comedians, a helicopter-borne string quartet and almost 12,000 other events. The launch of this enormous jamboree, after years of planning, was enough to make even Jeremy Hunt who by anyone's standards is not having a good week – smile.

Although the Tower of London was perhaps an inauspicious place for the embattled Culture Secretary to be yesterday, Mr Hunt was on enthusiastic form as he hailed the festival – the cultural complement to the sporting Olympics – as an "extraordinary" event. He quipped about his delight that "there is so much media interest" in the launch before adding: "This festival is a celebration of the remarkable culture that we have in our country. This festival has been put together so masterfully and encapsulates all that we are proud of. There will be something for everyone, from Beethoven to Jay-Z, from Shakespeare to Mike Leigh, from Stephen Fry to Wallace and Gromit."